26 Jan 2018

The Evolution of Ceramic Woodland Insects

by linnell | posted in: Blog, General | 0

Late May 2017 – On a sunny Sunday, I spied a shiny black beetle at the side of a path whilst hiking in the Heritage Grove Redwoods, La Honda, California. I realized instantly that this bug would make a perfect model for a ceramic insect that I would coat with some recently-purchased Black Luster overglaze.

Luckily, my hiking partner had his iPhone and took this Photo.

Research revealed that this creature has the fantastic name of Darkling Beetle.

I sketched what I had in mind for making a ceramic bug.

My idea was to make antennae and legs from wire leftover from my hobby of making earrings, using wire-wrapping techniques learned back then.

The bugs would be mounted on driftwood collected from the beach earlier in the year after a gigantic storm.

Copper tacks from my late-father’s stash of hardware would be perfect for attaching the bugs to the driftwood.

I hand-built 6 experimental bugs out of high-fire stoneware clay. Each started as a closed pinch pot. Different features were added, such as up-lifted flared wings, bugged eyes, mouth/lips. I made protruding eyebrows and sled feet, with holes to accommodate the later addition of wire antennae and legs.

After the bugs dried, I applied various combinations of underglaze colors for highlighting different features. All bugs survived the bisque firing.

For glazing, I experimented with various glossy glazes, including Palladium (Silvery Black), Saturation Gold, Pansy Purple, and Transparent.

After the glaze firing, the bugs needed enhancement with Luster overglazes. Lusters contain precious metal elements, such as real gold, which give a glittery and/or iridescent effect. For most of the bugs, Black Luster was used to make their bodies shinier, and to highlight their wings. Opal Luster was applied to wings (including underneath). Gold Luster was applied to lips, eyes, and/or to highlight the tips of wings. The pieces were re-fired at Cone 020 (1180 F), with the end result being a shimmery finish, gorgeous to look at.

Created 2 antennae and 6 legs from gold wire which was threaded through holes in each bug, coiled with pliers. The last step — no small effort — was to wrestle the bugs onto their driftwood mounts using vintage copper tacks.

December 2017 (6+ months later) — The inspiration of seeing a little black beetle evolved in my brain and hands into totally unique and eye-catching fantastical art pieces. Also appropriate for older children interested in insects — adorable companions or a great addition to a bug collection.

Each one measures approx. 2+″ x 3+” x 2+″

Listed for Sale on Etsy.com, click on LegalizePotteryShop.

28 Nov 2016

Trio of Bowls

by linnell | posted in: Blog | 0

Here are the preliminary results of my quest to make symmetrical pedestal bowls using a slump mold. They progressively grew in size and stature, with the bottom-most being comparatively big, middle bowl being bigger, and top-most being the biggest and tallest.

So far, the process has involved cutting large slabs into large circles, and pressing them into a plastic-wrapped mold, and gently beating the clay into submission. Then, the insides required seemingly endless smoothing, and much effort was required to make the lip even from all angles. The drying process was arduous, gradually getting the clay to the point where the bowls would maintain their shape so that I could flip them upside down onto a slightly smaller mold. While the bowls were propped up from the inside, I was able to smooth the outsides and attach a pedestal.

While I left the first bowl with smooth sides, I carved closely-aligned crevices into the outsides of the top 2 bowls. This was done free-hand with a linoleum cutter — my favorite tool — which was loads of fun and turned out surprisingly well. Next stop is the kiln for bisque-firing

22 Jun 2016

Feel the Summer Energy Rising

by linnell | posted in: Blog | 0

This Summer has started out auspiciously — with a rare “Strawberry Moon.” A full moon shone on Summer Solstice (June 20) — the longest day of the year. Hasn’t happened since 1967, and we all know what a great year that was! Won’t happen again until 2062 — pending intervening unknowns.

So, I’m trying to make Summer plans that are equal to this auspicious start, involving heretofore unknown feats involving ceramics. I was inspired by attending “Open Studios” last month, in particular one artist who recently switched from 2D (painting) to 3D (ceramics) and was cranking out some amazing work. Since then, I have begun some cranking out of my own:

Fish Dishes — each one unique . . .

Shallow Serving Bowls — with enough breadth (11”) to accommodate my propensity to carve carve carve. The first pic reflects my favorite ceramic subject which is fish. The second pic reflects another of my favorite things, words. The idea of carving words was inspired by an acquaintance who was spouting off about people really liking things (artwork) with sayings on them. Plus, I was enamored with Ms. Bockle’s words in a recent MoveGirlGO post which I paraphrased . . .

I’ve got loads more clay on hand to keep me busy for the rest of the Summer, and hopefully I’ll continue to “feel my energy rising.”

6 Jan 2016

Vessel Vase with Sgraffito

by linnell | posted in: Blog, General, Uncategorized | 0

To make a large classically-shaped vase, an ancient technique is to use fat extruded coils, and flatten them out — making “slab coils”. Two large bowl shapes were made from the slab coils being wound and stacked and smeared together. After resting a bit, the two bowls were joined rim-to-rim into a roundish vessel. A foot and neck/rim were added from more slab coils. A band of underglaze was applied to the belly of the vase, and I used “sgraffito” tools and a linoleum cutter to carve an abstract design into the underglaze. After bisque firing, an ivory underglaze was applied above and below the sgraffito area, and inside the vase. VA Clear glaze was used inside and outside, with a thick coat on the rim. The overall effect is pleasantly rustic.

(Measurements 9-1/2″ tall, approx. 6-1/2″ diameter)

13 Sep 2014

Summer Projects

by linnell | posted in: Blog, Images, Uncategorized | 0

As usual, I skipped the Summer Session of my ceramics class, and instead worked on my own. Also as usual, accomplishments fell short of the goal, and there are only a few finished pieces so far, and fewer still are worth sharing.

Fish Dish #18, per customer’s specifications . . .

Plaque (reversible), wire hanger with beads . . .

Spindly-legged stand with fish carving, inlaid with colored glass particles . . .

I spent most of my time slip-casting and trying to alter the results into something unique. I acquired several different molds and 4 gallons of slip, and spent lots of time/effort making the pieces ‘artsy’ rather than ‘crafty’ BUT not quite there yet.

Pyramids embellished with fish . . .

Work in Progress . . .

9 Aug 2014

Legalize Pottery Step-By-Step

by linnell | posted in: Blog, Uncategorized | 0

Here is a series of pictures showing the Legalize Pottery Process.

Greenware stage – clay is drying

Clay Drying - Greenware — Clay Drying – Greenware

After bisque firing (Low-Temp, Cone 06)

After application of oxides, underglaze/glaze

Loading the kiln for High-Temp firing (Cone 10)

Final results

Glazing (and the glaze firing) is the most stressful of the steps, as well as the most amazing, with unexpected results, some ‘fails’ and plenty of lessons learned!

Bisque